NatCat Safe School App to Mitigate Disaster Risks in Schools

APP

Islamabad: The National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), in partnership with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, is advancing efforts to safeguard educational institutions across Pakistan through the development of the NatCat Safe School Application.

This innovative digital tool, according to the Education Ministry, is designed to enhance the safety and resilience of school infrastructures against natural disasters.

On Friday, NDRMF presented the first live demo of the NatCat Safe School Application to Federal Secretary Education, Mohyuddin Wani, at ICMG F-8/1 in Islamabad. The demonstration highlighted the app’s potential to revolutionize school safety standards.

Following the demo, the Federal Secretary praised NDRMF for this forward-thinking initiative, recognizing its potential to mitigate risks and protect students and school staff from disasters.

He commended the app’s ability to enhance educational safety standards and lauded the use of innovative technologies to strengthen the resilience of educational infrastructure nationwide.

The NatCat Safe School Application leverages data from a range of stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and students, combined with risk and loss information from the NatCat Model. The app identifies vulnerabilities in schools and assesses risks posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, and landslides.

By gathering and analyzing data on school buildings and their surroundings, the app enables authorities to develop and implement retrofitting plans to improve the resilience of educational facilities.

The application features two distinct interfaces:

The Mobile Application Interface allows users to submit reports and data on the go, enabling real-time risk identification.

The Expert View Interface provides education authorities with tools to evaluate disaster scenarios, simulate risks using NatCat data, and generate actionable insights for disaster mitigation.

NDRMF CEO Bilal Anwar stated, “The NatCat Safe School Application represents a significant leap forward in our efforts to build resilient educational institutions.

By using cutting-edge data and real-time reporting, this tool will enable us to protect schools from the growing threats posed by natural disasters. Our goal is to ensure that every school in Pakistan is equipped to safeguard its students, teachers, and staff.”